1. Field of the Invention:
The invention relates to a ventilated oven door construction, and particularly to an elevated door handle which serves as both a hot air deflector and a shielding means.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
A ventilated oven door with a cooling air channel behind the outer door panel so that currents of cooling air may pass up through the air channel is described in the patent of James A. White, U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,916, which is also assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This patent shows another example of a simple oven door handle located below the top edge of the door.
Another such ventilated oven door with a different kind of simple oven door handle is shown in a second patent of James A. White, U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,792 of the present assignee. This door handle is also located below the top edge of the door.
One problem experienced with ventilated oven doors is that high operating temperatures are likely to appear along the top edge of the door, the area directly above the door, and the door handle. Ventilated doors are used most often with pyrolytic self-cleaning ovens, where the internal oven temperatures rise to a maximum temperature of about 950.degree.F during the automatic cleaning of the food soils and grease spatter from the walls forming the oven cooking cavity.
The allowable surface temperatures permitted by the Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc. for range components mounted above 36 inches from the floor is 182.degree.F for bare or painted metal, 190.degree.F for porcelain enamel finishes, 202.degree.F for glass and 212.degree.F for plastics. Allowable surface temperatures for handles and knobs is about 50.degree.F less than the above temperatures for the same materials.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a ventilated oven door with an elevated door handle extending above the top edge of the door to serve as both a hot air deflecting means and a shielding means.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an oven door construction with a door handle of the class described for reducing as well as preventing access to the areas of maximum outer surface temperatures adjacent the top edge of the door.